


sticks, stones, and summer

by bttrmllw



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Light-Hearted, Snippets, Twitter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-17 12:35:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29592906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bttrmllw/pseuds/bttrmllw
Summary: au. in which little sasuke is feared but little sakura is fearless.“you can’t scare me away,” sakura says waspishly over her shoulder.sasuke bristles like the reeds. “i wasn’t trying to scare you away.”
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 7
Kudos: 51





	sticks, stones, and summer

**Author's Note:**

> idk guys. blame twitter and sssnippetoftheday. i’d say blame twitter for my lack of capitalization too but this is just my real form tbch. hi.

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naruto is baby faced—the kind of boy that lives in a small village and is exceptionally kind and helpful, capturing the attention and heart of some farmer’s daughter. he is exactly the type of guy sakura would challenge to (and trounce in) a scuffle. 

his best friend however—

(“his eyes will turn you to stone!”

“if he says your name you’re cursed!”

“i heard he has no parents, just showed up from the forest, a rabid beast!”)

—is a mystery of the pandora’s box variety: irresistible and dangerous.

sakura, a patron of science even at the precocious age of seven, does not believe any of the rumors she hears.

she tells him so one afternoon when her friends run away at his arrival. (nevermind that he looks just as startled as they are when he encounters them.) sakura stares, only somewhat bothered by his presence, before resuming her task of gathering herbs. 

he watches quietly from the tall grass, a gentle frown on his round face until finally 

“you can’t scare me away,” sakura says waspishly over her shoulder.

sasuke bristles like the reeds. “i wasn’t trying to scare you away.”

she turns to scowl at him then, brandishes her bouquet. “i don’t believe you can curse me. i don’t believe you can hurt me at all.”

dark brows rise—“hn.”—before he looks away to presumably continue whatever it is he was doing before he stumbled upon them in the meadow.

“i could take you,” sakura grumbles, returning to her chore. then: “ow!” vicious green eyes swerve around to spot a too-innocent looking boy tossing a pebble up and down. “did you—did you just throw a rock at me?”

sasuke is the epitome of innocence, blinks large black eyes. “me? i thought i couldn’t hurt you?”

sakura gapes. “sticks and stones—“ she begins, but sasuke scoffs

(scoffs. like a  child.)

and sakura blinks at the thought, the realization. she takes him in: mussed hair, dirt on his nose, barefoot, a large stick held loosely in one hand. he had been  playing.

“and it’s a  _sword,_ not that i expect a girl picking flowers to understand.”

oh! _ ooh! _

her cheeks puff up and redden, calloused hands push up the sleeves of her dress, and she kicks off her shoes. 

sasuke cants his head, somehow exuding both intrigue and disinterest: “what are you doing.” he does not ask it like a question.

sakura frowns, stoops down to pick up her own stick and holds it aloft. “en garde, brat!”

.

they play for hours on end, chasing each other about the meadow, rolling in the grass, trampling the flowers and weeds alike.

half-hearted insults and laughter fill the air, the clack of sticks join the cicadas in a summer percussion.

they play until the sun begins to set.

they play until they are both lying spread eagle on the ground, watching the cotton-candy sky, the residuals of laughter bubbling up and bursting into uncontrollable, side-aching peals of joy.

and then finally— _finally_ — they reach quiet contentment.

the breeze cools the sweat on their faces and sakura breathes in the scent of soil and summer.

“there you are, bastard!”

both pairs of eyes jump to the blond barreling through the grass.

“i’ve been looking all over for you! mom and dad were worried—sakura?”

sakura sits up, tilts her head. “hi.”

blue eyes squint, flit between the duo. “what’re you two doing out here?”

“playing,” sasuke says without fanfare, dusting himself off as he stands.

“playing,” naruto repeats, gaze finding sakura. there’s something in his eyes that makes her cheeks burn. “sakura, your friends were convinced you died.”

she scrambles to her feet. “I  told them he couldn’t hurt me. i told them i wasn’t afraid. but do they ever believe me?” she mutters to herself as she gathers her belongings: her shoes, the herbs, and the ribbon that wove through a pink braided crown. her hair is tangled now, a nest of grass and twigs.

(naruto waggles his brows at sasuke—silent interrogation—gesticulating silently and widely.

sasuke rolls his eyes, bashful and annoyed, signals right back: ‘ shut up, idiot’ .)

their arms drop to their sides when sakura turns back around to face them. “alright, i’ll see you around.”

sasuke and naruto exchange looks. they’re not sure who she’s speaking to.

but sakura does not clarify, just marches past the two with all the assuredness and authority of a royal guard—

“thank you, sakura.”

—she falters, glances over her shoulder at sasuke. he looks at her the same way he was looking at the sky: in reverent wonder. 

“you’re welcome,” she replies, though she’s unsure exactly what he thanks her for.

.

that night, after she is scolded by lady tsunade and recounts her adventure to her friends, she lies in her cot and watches the shadows across the ceiling. her thoughts are entirely consumed by sasuke, by the sound of her name on his lips,

and sakura wonders if perhaps he has cursed her after all.

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* * *

<3 

thanks for reading! hope it made you smile (: did you like it? hate it? was it boring? lmk!


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